Systems and methods for controlling door locking mechanisms to facilitate package delivery or pickup

ABSTRACT

A system for facilitating package delivery or pickup at premises of senders or recipients has a package door that is used for receipt and collection of packages. The package door includes an input device for entering package information and an image capture device for visually recording the arrival of a courier. Based on the package information entered via the input device, the system determines whether the package information matches a predetermined value, such as a package tracking number. The system may automatically unlock the package door if the package information matches such predetermined value. In other embodiments, a user may remotely monitor the package information and/or information from the image capture device to determine whether to provide inputs for unlocking the package door. The system logs the package information received from the input device and the image capture device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.15/043,979 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,619,955), entitled “Systems and Methodsfor Facilitating Package Delivery or Pickup,” and filed Feb. 15, 2016,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/116,207,entitled “Systems and Methods for Facilitating Package Delivery orPickup,” and filed Feb. 13, 2015, both of which applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The growth of electronic commerce has enabled consumers to conduct alarge percentage of their shopping online, resulting in a large volumeof packages being delivered to homes and businesses. In addition, onlineshopping is just one of many activities that are causing expansionswithin the delivery industry, and shipments are often associated withconsiderable amounts of data, including the identification of thesender, the recipient, the courier (which may be the same entity as thesender), the package contents, and the times of both collection anddelivery of the package.

Often, however, packages are collected and delivered when the sender andrecipient, respectively, are not present. This presents a particularchallenge for packages that require special handling, which can becostly for all constituents in the supply chain. Food or otherperishable items, for example, may spoil if left exposed to outsidetemperatures or if collection is delayed due to the inability of thecourier to access the package. Risks are also added when the contents ofthe package are more expensive. In addition, packages left for deliveryor pickup on a doorstep or other location outside of a residence arevulnerable to theft and other risks, such as damage from weather.Redelivery is also a significant problem for couriers and can provideconvenience issues for the customer. Accordingly, high value packagesmay require special handling for security or require insurance againstloss or theft. As an example, a sender of a package may require asignature of the recipient before delivery is permitted. The signaturerequirement may complicate shipment logistics and also may add a delayto the delivery process when the recipient is unavailable to receive theshipment from the courier, which can often result in multiple redeliveryattempts and involving additional costs.

For these and other reasons, current package collection and deliverymethods are inconvenient despite the amount of information available topredict collection and delivery times. Projected collection and deliverytimes provided by couriers are often mere estimates and do not alleviatethe inability to be physically present for the collections anddeliveries. As such, a solution is needed for the collection anddelivery of packages to occur safely, securely and with certaintywithout anyone being present at the property.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scalerelative to each other, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the disclosure. Furthermore, likereference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a package door system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a computingdevice, such as is depicted by FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary operation of a packagedoor system, such as is depicted by FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of variouscomponents of a package door system, such as is depicted by FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a backside of a door shown by FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a computingdevice, such as is depicted by FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a door with an alternate embodiment of thedoor locking mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a portion of the door locking mechanismfrom detail 8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a package door with an alternate embodimentof the door locking mechanism.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a portion of the door locking mechanismfrom detail 10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an embodiment of a user interface for thepackage door system.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are illustrations of alternate structures incorporatinga package door.

FIG. 14 is a side, cross-sectional view of the box of FIG. 13.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are front and rear views of the strike plate assembly ofFIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a power systemfor the user interface of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods forfacilitating package delivery or pickup at premises of senders orrecipients. In one exemplary embodiment, a system has a package doorthat is used for receipt and collection of packages. The package doorcan be a door within a door, a door within a wall, door within a garagedoor, or a door incorporated in a bench (with storage capability) or abox. In the system, the package door may include an input device forentering package information and an image capture device for visuallyrecording the arrival of a courier. At least one wireless transceiver isattached to the input device and to the image capture device, and thetransceiver is operable to wirelessly transmit the information obtainedfrom the input device and the image capture device to a remote device.Based on the package information entered via the input device, thesystem determines whether the package information matches apredetermined value, such as a package tracking number. The system mayautomatically unlock the package door if the package information matchesthe predetermined value. In other embodiments, a user may remotelymonitor the package information and/or information from the imagecapture device to determine whether to provide the inputs for unlockingthe package door. The system can log a variety of package informationreceived from the input device and the image capture device.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a package door system 1 forfacilitating the collection and delivery of packages. As shown by FIG.1, the system 1 includes a package door 3, door locking mechanism 5,data input device 7, image capture device 9, and doorbell system 11. Inone embodiment, the data input device 7, image capture device 9, anddoorbell system 11 can be separate devices as shown in FIG. 1. However,in other embodiments, two or more of the data input device 7, imagecapture device 9, and doorbell system 11 may be incorporated into asingle device. The doorbell system 11 includes a doorbell interface 12,such as a button, that when activated (e.g., pressed by a user) causesthe doorbell system 11 to provide an audio or visual output to theoperator of the system 1 to indicate a presence of a user at the packagedoor 3 (or door 4). In certain embodiments, the package door 3 can bemounted in a larger-sized door 4 and be movable with respect to the door4 so that the package door 3 may be opened while the door 4 remainsclosed. In other embodiments, it is unnecessary for the package door 3to be mounted in the door 4. As an example, the package door 3 may bemounted directly within a wall of a house or other building so thatpackages may be delivered through the wall by opening the package door3. The package door 3 may also be incorporated in a garage door orwarehouse door. Other embodiments may also include a freestandingcustomized box, such as a drop box or mailbox, or customized furniture,e.g., a bench or chair, incorporating a box into the design of thefurniture, where the package door 3 is mounted on the box and iscontrolled or used as described herein to provide access to the interiorof the box. In yet other embodiments, the package door 3 may bepositioned at other locations and mounted on other types of structures.

Referring to FIG. 1, the door locking mechanism 5, data input device 7,image capture device 9, and the doorbell interface 12 can each becoupled to a separate transceiver 13. However, in other embodiments, twoor more of the door locking mechanism 5, data input device 7, imagecapture device 9, and doorbell system 11 may share a transceiver 13. Incertain embodiments, the data input device 7 and image capture device 9are mounted on and coupled to the door 4, though is it is possible thatthe data input device 7 and the image capture device 9 can be mounted onor coupled to other structures, such as an adjacent wall, near thepackage door 3. As an example, in certain embodiments, the data inputdevice 7 and/or the image capture device 9 may be mounted on a wall of ahouse or other building in which the package door 3 (or door 4) aremounted or alternatively the data input device 7 and/or the imagecapture device 9 may be mounted on the package door 3 (or door 4).Further, the door locking mechanism 5 is used to selectively lock thepackage door 3 and can be incorporated in one or more of the packagedoor 3 and the structure surrounding the package door 3, e.g., door 4 ora wall of the house or other building. That is, when the package door 3is in a closed position and locked by the door locking mechanism 5, thepackage door 3 is prevented from moving with respect to the door 4 orother structure in which the package door 3 is mounted. The package door3 should remain in a closed position thereby preventing a person orobject from passing through the doorway of the package door 3 into thehouse or other building in which the package door 3 is positioned. As anexample, to lock the package door 3, the locking mechanism 5 may move adeadbolt 18 (see FIG. 4) to engage both the package door 3 and thestructure surrounding the package door 3, and to unlock the package door3, the door locking mechanism 5 may move the deadbolt 18 such that it iscontained in one of the package door 3 or the structure surrounding thepackage door 3. In another embodiment, the door locking mechanism 5 maymove the keeper of an electronic striker lock to lock or unlock thepackage door 3. In still other embodiments, other techniques and devicesfor locking and unlocking the package door 3 are possible. In otherembodiments, other types of devices may be incorporated into the system1 and be used to communicate with or operate under the control of thecomputing device 19 or remote computing device 31.

In addition to controlling the lock state of the package door 3, thesystem 1 also tracks information associated with packages that aredelivered through the doorway of the package door 3. As an example,certain information may be electronically or optically captured andstored by the system 1 so that the information defines a history ofpackage deliveries or pickups at the location of the package door 3. Forexample, the system 1 may capture the time of delivery or pickup, atracking number or other identifier of the package, contact information(e.g., name or address) of the sender or recipient, or an identifier ofa courier service used to deliver the package. Exemplary techniques forcapturing such information will be described in more detail below.

Further, as described above, the doorbell system 11 has an interface 12,such as a button, that is located in close proximity to the package door3 (e.g., on a door frame or wall of a house or other building in whichthe package door 3 is mounted). When the interface 12 is activated(e.g., pressed) by a user at the package door 3, the doorbell system 11generates a sound or other type of output within the building to signalthe presence of a person at the package door 3. In addition, as will bedescribed in more detail below, when activated, the doorbell system 11may transmit notices or commands to other devices of the system 1, suchas the image capture device 9 or a remote access device 21. Such noticesmay be transmitted wirelessly or via physical media and may includeemail messages, text messages, audio/video messages or other types ofmessages.

In certain embodiments, the package door 3 is a conventional door, suchas the exterior door of a house, and is not mounted on another door 4.The package door 3 may be sized large enough to permit a person to passthrough its doorway (e.g., over six feet in height), or the door may besmaller to permit packages to pass without necessarily allowing afull-grown person to pass. In other embodiments, the package door 3 maybe a door that is a subsection of a larger-sized door 4 (see e.g., FIG.4); a security gate, such as wrought iron exterior gate; a garage door;a door for a drop box, mail box, large box or bench; a door through abuilding wall; and other types of doors.

The data input device 7 can accept the inputs associated with aparticular package, such as the tracking number or other packageidentifier associated with the package or a password provided to thecourier delivering the package. In an exemplary embodiment, the datainput device 7 is a keypad where a user can select keys of the keypad toenter characters, such as letters or numbers, but other types of datainput devices 7 are possible in other embodiments including, but notlimited to, scanners (e.g., barcode or biometric scanners), touchpads,tablet computers, key fobs, and like devices.

The image capture device 9 is configured and positioned to capturevisual information associated with a particular package, such as adigital photograph or a video of the courier and/or the package. In anexemplary embodiment, the image capture device 9 is a tablet computer,such as an iPad®, equipped with a camera and a display screen, but othertypes of image capture devices 9 are possible in other embodiments. Theimage capture device 9 of FIG. 4 has an embedded camera that has a lens14 for receiving light of a scene to be captured by the camera. Thecamera is configured to convert the light to digital data defining animage of the scene exposed through the lens 14.

In the embodiment shown by FIG. 4, the image capture device 9 isembedded in the door 4 or mounted such that only the lens 14 is visiblefrom the perspective shown by FIG. 4. In such case, the lens 14 mayappear as a peephole of the door 4. As shown by FIG. 5, the other sideof the image capture device 9 (without lens 14) can have a displayscreen 16 for displaying digital images. The image captured by thecamera of the image capture device 9 is displayed on the display screen16 such that the image capture device 9 can function as an electronicpeephole. For example, the camera of the image capture device 9 capturesan image of the scene on the exterior side of the door 4 (or wall), andthe captured image is displayed by the display screen 16 so that aperson on the interior side of the door 4 (or wall) can see the capturedimage. Thus, if a person is standing in front of the door 4 outside ofthe house or other building, an image of such person should be displayedon the display screen 16 inside of the house or other building or on aremote device, such as mobile phone or desktop computer. Note that thedevice 9 may be embedded in the door 4 such that only the lens 14 isvisible on one side of the door 4 and the only the display screen 16 isvisible on the opposite side of the door 4, although otherconfigurations are possible. As an example, it is possible for the imagecapture device 9 to be mounted on an interior side of the door 4 and forthe lens 14 to be aligned with a peephole in the door 4 that allowslight to pass from the exterior side of the door to the lens 14. Yetother configurations and locations of the image capture device 9 arepossible in other embodiments. As an example, the image capture device 9may be mounted on a wall of the house or other building in which thepackage door 3 (or door 4) is mounted. It is also possible for the imagecapture device 9 to be incorporated within the door locking mechanism 5,the doorbell system 11 or the data input device 7.

In addition to displaying captured images via the display screen 16, thecaptured images may be wirelessly transmitted for archiving or otherpurposes. For example, as will be described in more detail below, when aperson at the package door 3 activates the doorbell interface 12 orotherwise indicates his presences at the package door 3, the imagecapture device 9 may use the wireless transceiver 13 coupled to it inorder to wirelessly transmit a message to a remote access device 21,such as a cellular telephone, that includes a digital photograph orvideo of one or more images captured by the image capture device 9.Thus, the user of the remote access device 21, such as the owner oroccupant of the house or building in which the package door 3 ismounted, may view the images and decide, based on the images, whether tounlock the package door 3. If so, the user may transmit a command forunlocking the package door 3 from the remote access device 21 to thedoor locking mechanism 5, as will be described in more detail below.

Referring to FIG. 1, each transceiver 13 is configured to communicatewith a gateway 15. In an exemplary embodiment, the transceivers 13communicate with the gateway 15 via radio frequency (RF) signals, butother types of wireless signals (e.g., cellular) are possible. Inaddition, various wireless protocols may be used to communicate signalswith the gateway 15 including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFCand Z-wave. Further, it possible for any of the transceivers 13 to becoupled to the gateway 15 or other communication devices via a physicalmedium, such as a conductive or optical connection, so that wirelesscommunication is unnecessary. In an exemplary embodiment, the gateway 15is a residential router that forms a local area network (LAN) over whichthe transceivers 13 and a computing device 19 may communicate, but othertypes of gateways are possible in other embodiments. The gateway 15 isconfigured to communicate with and provide access to a wide area network(WAN) 17, such as the Internet.

Data collected by the data input device 7, image capture device 9, anddoorbell system 11, such as barcodes, tracking numbers, photographs,videos, instances of doorbell presses, sender identifier, recipientidentifier, courier identifier, demographic information, transactionalinformation, and timestamps associated with certain events (e.g.,doorbell presses, package delivery or pickup, or data input events forany of the information collected by the data input device 7), are storedin memory 29 (see FIG. 2) of the computing device 19 as package data 23(see FIG. 2). In certain embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the computingdevice 19 includes system logic 25 that is configured to control theoperation of the system 1 as will be described in more detail below. Asshown by FIG. 2, attribute data 27 is also stored in memory 29. Theattribute data 27 indicates at least one attribute of a package expectedto be delivered to or picked up through the doorway of the package door3. The system logic 25 is configured to determine whether the packagedata 23 corresponds to at least one attribute defined by the attributedata 27. For example, prior to arrival of a package, the package'stracking number may be stored in the attribute data 27, which the systemlogic 25 may then compare with the package data 23 entered via the datainput device 7 or otherwise obtained by the system logic 25. If thetracking numbers match, the system logic 25 may provide a command to thedoor locking mechanism 5 to unlock so that the package door 3 can beopened in order to deliver a package to or retrieve a package from thehouse or other building in which the package door 3 is mounted.

Note that an unlocking event to unlock the package door 3 for aparticular package (or group of packages) may be a one-time event. Forexample, once a tracking number match occurs or the door lockingmechanism 5 otherwise receives an instruction to unlock, the packagedoor 3 may remain unlocked for a predefined time period long enough(e.g., about 30 seconds or so) to permit a person to make a delivery orpickup of one or more packages through the doorway of the package door3. After such predefined period, the locking mechanism 5 may beconfigured to automatically lock the package door 3. In an alternativeembodiment, a motion sensor (not shown) or other type of sensor maysense the presence of a person at the package door 3, and once anunlocking event occurs, the locking mechanism 5 may lock the packagedoor 3 once the motion sensor other type of sensor detects that theperson has left the proximity of the package door 3. Once the packagedoor 3 is unlocked in response to the match of a tracking number orother package identifier, then the tracking number or package identifieris no longer valid for causing an unlock event to occur. Thus, if thesame package identifier is later presented to the system 1, the packagedoor 3 will not be unlocked based on the package identifier, therebypreventing a user from using the tracking number or other packageidentifier of a previously-delivered package to unlock the package door3.

Note that the functions described herein for the computing device 19 maybe performed at various locations. As an example, the system 1 mayinclude a remote computing device 31 (e.g., a server) that can performany of the functions described herein for the computing device 19. Thecomputing device 19 may be local to (e.g., at the premises of) thestructure in which the package door 3 is mounted, and the remotecomputing device 31 may be at a remote location communicating with anyof the other components of the system through the WAN 17 or other typeof network. In such embodiment, the computing device 19 may collectpackage data 23 from the data input device 7, the image capture device9, and/or the doorbell system 11 and upload such data 23 to the remotecomputing device 31, which then performs any of the functions describedherein for the computing device 19, such as controlling the lockingstate of the door locking mechanism 5, tracking of package deliveries orpickups, or associating a customer identifier with the package data 23.As an example, the system logic 25 or any portion of the system logic 25may be implemented on the remote computing device 31 if desired. Forillustrative purposes, it will be assumed hereafter that the systemlogic 25 is implemented on the computing device 19 unless otherwiseindicated, but it should be emphasized that any of the functions of thesystem logic 25 can be performed by the remote computing device 31.

In certain embodiments, the system logic 25 is configured to transmit anotification to a remote access device 21 upon the entry of informationvia the data input device 7, image capture device 9, and/or the doorbellsystem 11. In certain embodiments, the notification is in the form of ane-mail, but other methods of delivery are contemplated including, butnot limited to, text messages, picture messages, and video messages. Incertain embodiments, the notification provides a real-time video feed tothe user of the remote access device 21 showing images captured by theimage capture device 9 so that a user of the remote access device 21 cansee who is at the package door 3.

A remote access device 21 is configured to communicate with thecomputing device 19 through the WAN 17. The remote access device 21 isany device capable of communicating data and interfacing with a user. Incertain embodiments, the remote access device 21 may be configured torender (e.g., display) information from the computing device 19. As anexample, the remote access device 21 may be a personal computer (e.g., adesktop or laptop) or a hand-held device, such as a personal digitalassistant (PDA), cellular telephone, or tablet computer. The remoteaccess device 21 may be configured to initiate unlocking of the doorlocking mechanism 5 in response to a command by the user. For example,the user may receive a notification from the computing device 19indicating the input of a package's tracking number into the data inputdevice 7 whereby the user may use the remote access device 21 to signalthe computing device 19 to unlock the door locking mechanism 5.

In another embodiment, the remote access device 21 can be used by thesystem operator to provide a one-time passcode to a friend or guest thatcan be used by the friend or guest to unlock door 4 or package door 3.The passcode can be a randomly generated number that is electronicallysent by the remote access device 21 to a computing device of the friendor guest. The recipient of the passcode can then enter the passcode intothe data input device 7 to permit the recipient to unlock door 4 orpackage door 3. Once the passcode has been used a predetermined numberof times, e.g., 1 time, the passcode can be deactivated such that thepasscode will be inoperable to unlock door 4 or package door 3. The dataentered into the data input device 7 and any captured images from imagecapture device 9 can be stored in memory 29 (see FIG. 2) of thecomputing device 19 and can be subsequently analyzed to obtaininformation relating to the use of the passcode (e.g., images of personsusing the passcode, the number of times the passcode has been enteredcorrectly and incorrectly, the dates and times when the passcode hasbeen entered, etc.).

In certain embodiments, the WAN 17 includes the Internet, and messagesare communicated in accordance with transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), but other protocols and networktypes are possible in other embodiments. The remote access device and/orgateway 15 may be configured to communicate with the WAN 17 wirelessly(e.g., via cellular signals) or alternatively may be coupled to the WAN17 via a physical medium, such as a conductive or optical connection,that can be used for communicating data.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a computing device 19. Thecomputing device 19 may be any device capable of processing andcommunicating data, such as a personal computer (e.g., a desktop orlaptop) or a hand-held device, such as a personal digital assistant(PDA), cellular telephone, smartphone or tablet computer. In oneembodiment, the computing device 19 is separate from the data inputdevice 7, image capture device 9, and doorbell system 11, but may beincorporated into one or more of the data input device 7, image capturedevice 9, and doorbell system 11 in other embodiments. As shown by FIG.2, the computing device 19 has logic 25, referred to herein as “systemlogic,” for generally controlling the operation of the system 1, as willbe described in more detail hereafter, including communicating with theWAN 17. The system logic 25 can be implemented in software, hardware,firmware or any combination thereof. In the exemplary computing device19 illustrated by FIG. 2, the system logic 25 is implemented in softwareand stored in memory 29. Note that the system logic 25, when implementedin software, can be stored and transported on any computer-readablemedium for use by or in connection with an instruction executionapparatus that can fetch and execute instructions.

The exemplary computing device 19 depicted by FIG. 2 has at least oneconventional processing element 32, which has processing hardware forexecuting instructions stored in memory 29. As an example, theprocessing element 32 may include a central processing unit (CPU) or adigital signal processor (DSP). The processing element 32 communicatesto and drives the other elements within the computing device 19 via alocal interface 33, which can include at least one bus. Furthermore, aninput interface 35, for example, a keypad, keyboard or a mouse, can beused to input data from a user of the computing device 19, and an outputinterface 37, for example, a printer, monitor, liquid crystal display(LCD), or other display apparatus, can be used to output data to theuser. Further, a communication interface 39 may be used to communicatewith the gateway 15 (FIG. 1) and/or WAN 17 or other component of thesystem 1.

As shown by FIG. 2, package data 23 is stored in memory 29 at thecomputing device 19. The package data 23 includes information, such astracking numbers and their associated timestamps received from the datainput device 7, photos and videos and their associated timestampsreceived from the image capture device 9, and doorbell presses and theirassociated timestamps received from the doorbell system 11. The packagedata 23 may also store any information captured by the system 1, such asa sender identifier (e.g., name and/or address), a recipient identifier,a courier identifier, customer demographic information, or transactioninformation.

In one exemplary embodiment, the package data 23 defines a history ofthe packages received through the system 1. Thus, the package data 23may be analyzed to determine when and how often packages received overtime. In certain embodiments, the attribute data 27 defines packagetracking numbers that can be compared to the package data 23 todetermine whether particular packages are collected or delivered asscheduled. The attribute data 27 may be entered manually, for example bya user of the computing device 19, or provided from the remote accessdevice 21. In one exemplary embodiment, the attribute data 27 isdownloaded from a server 30 that is in communication with the computingdevice 19 via the WAN 17 or otherwise.

As an example, the server 30 may be operated by a courier service thatis delivering the package. The server 30 may store a tracking number foreach package to be delivered by the courier service, and such trackingnumber for a given package is unique relative to the tracking numbersused for other packages. That is, the tracking number associated with agiven package uniquely identifies the package relative to the otherpackages delivered by the courier service. Each tracking number iscorrelated with various attribute information pertaining to theassociated package, including for example, the names and addresses ofthe package's sender and recipient, date of pickup and expected date ofdelivery. From time-to-time, the system logic 25 is configured tocontact the server 30 and to retrieve attribute information pertainingto packages correlated with a particular sender or recipient, such as aperson located at the house or other building in which the package door3 is mounted. The attribute information to be retrieved may be foundbased on the name, address, or other identifier of such person. As anexample, the system logic 25 may retrieve the tracking number of eachpackage to be delivered to or picked up from the identified personwithin a certain time period (e.g., over the next day or two), as wellas other attribute information associated with such tracking numbers.The retrieved information may be stored in memory 29 as part of theattribute data 27, and the attribute data 27 may be used to determinewhether to unlock the door locking mechanism 5.

For example, upon a courier's arrival at the package door 3, the couriermay enter a particular tracking number using the data input device 7,and the system logic 25 may compare such tracking number to the trackingnumbers stored in the attribute data 27 previously retrieved from theserver 30 or otherwise received by the computing device 19. If thetracking number received from the courier by the data input device 7matches one stored in the attribute data 27, the system logic 25 mayautomatically transmit a signal to the door locking mechanism 5 to causeit to unlock, thereby allowing the package door 3 to be opened so that apackage can be delivered to or picked up from the interior of the houseor other building in which the package door 3 is mounted. Conversely, ifthe tracking number received from the courier by the data input device 7does not match any of the tracking numbers stored in the attribute data27, the system logic 25 may refrain from unlocking the door lockingmechanism 5, thereby preventing the person at the package door 3 fromgaining access to the interior of the house or other building in whichthe package door 3 is mounted. In such a case, the system logic 25 mayalso transmit a notification to a remote access device 21, whereby theuser is alerted to the unsuccessful attempt to unlock the door lockingmechanism 5, and the notification may include image data (e.g., one ormore photos or videos) captured by the image capture device 9 close tothe time of such attempt.

In certain embodiments, the package door 3 may open by swinging onhinges 57 (see FIG. 4), although other mechanisms for opening thepackage door 3 are possible, including, but not limited to, tracks onwhich the package door 3 may slide. The package door 3 may be configuredto open in any direction, e.g., swinging towards or away from the user.In other embodiments, the package door 3 may slide horizontally orvertically to open and close the doorway.

Note that it is possible for a representative of the courier service todeliver or pickup more than one package at a stop. The system 1 can bedesigned to collect various information about the packages, and thesystem 1 can accommodate the possibility of multiple packages beingdelivered or picked up at the same time. As an example, before thepackage door 3 is unlocked, the data input device 7 may be configured toprompt a user to enter the number of packages being delivered or pickedup so that the total number of packages delivered or picked up can beaccurately tracked. Alternatively, the system 1 may have a sensor (notshown) for sensing the number of packages delivered or picked up foreach unlock event. As an example, the sensor may be an infrared sensoror other type of sensor for detecting movement of a package through thedoorway of the package door 3. Such sensor may be designed to count thenumber of packages that pass through such doorway for each unlockingevent and to report such number to the data input device 7.Alternatively, the data input device 7 may be configured to prompt theuser at the package door 3 for each tracking number or other packageidentifier of the packages being delivered or picked up. In otherembodiments, other techniques and devices may be configured to track thenumber of packages delivered or picked up through the doorway of thepackage door 3.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary method of operation where the system logic25 automatically determines whether to permit access to the interior ofthe house, building, box or other structure through the doorway of thepackage door 3 based on the attribute data 27. Referring to FIG. 3,assume that a courier at the package door 3 presses the doorbellinterface 12 or a component (e.g., key) of the data input device 7. Whenan input is received via the doorbell interface 12 or the data inputdevice 7, the input is transmitted to the computing device 19 to informthe system logic 25 of the courier's presence. In response, the systemlogic 25 transmits a control signal to the data input device 7 causingthe data input device 7 to display a prompt requesting that the couriersubmit an input, such as a tracking number or other identifier of apackage to be delivered or picked up by the courier. In response, thecourier submits the requested information (e.g., tracking number) to thedata input device 7, which transmits the information to the computingdevice 19 (step 41). Note that the courier may manually enter theinformation using a keypad or other input interface of the data inputdevice 7, or the information may be automatically input or downloaded tothe data input device 7. As an example, the data input device 7 mayinclude a scanner (e.g., barcode scanner) that optically reads thetracking number or other information from a label of a package to bedelivered. Alternatively, the tracking number or other information maybe wirelessly transmitted from the package or a device carried by thecourier to the data input device 7 using Bluetooth, radio frequencyidentification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), or other wirelesstechnology.

The system logic 25 analyzes the data input received by the data inputdevice 7 (step 43) and then determines whether such data matches atleast one predefined value in the attribute data 27 (step 45). If not, amessage is transmitted to a remote access device 21 via the WAN 17 (step47). The message may include the value of the data entered, a timestampof the entry, one or more digital images captured by the image capturedevice 9 (e.g., digital photographs or real-time video captured by theimage capture device 9 at or close to the time that the courier inputteddata to the data input device 7).

Alternatively, if the data entered into the data input device 7 matchesa predefined value stored in the attribute data 27, the system logic 25may instruct the door locking mechanism 5 to unlock (step 49), and anotification message is transmitted to a remote access device 21 via theWAN 17 (step 47). The message may indicate that access to the interiorof the home, building or box through the doorway of the package door 3has been permitted, and the message may include the value of the dataentered, a timestamp of the entry, one or more digital images capturedby the image capture device 9 (e.g., digital photographs or real-timevideo captured by the image capture device 9 at or close to the timethat the courier inputted data to the data input device 7). In anotherembodiment, the door locking mechanism 5 is not automatically unlockedupon a match in step 45, but the system logic 25 instead sends anotification to the remote access device 21 to permit the user of thedevice 21 to decide whether to permit access via the package door 3. Thenotification may include the same notification information describedabove upon which the user may base his decision. If the user of thedevice 21 provides an input indicating that access is granted, thedevice 21 transmits a message the computing device 19 for causing thesystem logic 25 to unlock the door locking mechanism 5. If the user ofthe device 21 provides an input indicating that access is not granted,the device 21 transmits a message to the computing device 19 thatinstructs the system logic 25 to refrain from unlocking the door lockingmechanism 5.

Note that the computing device 19 is shown in FIG. 1 is in communicationwith other components of the system 1 through the gateway 15. However,other configurations are possible, e.g., the computing device 19communicates directly with the other components. For example, it ispossible for the computing device 19 to be implemented as a web serverconnected to the WAN 17. Further, it is possible for fees to be chargedto a user, such as the owner or occupant of the house or other buildingto which the package door 3 is mounted. As an example, a monthly orother recurring fee may be charged for a service of managing theunlocking events and collection of data. It is also possible for thecharging of fees to be event based. For example, a fee could be chargedper package for each package delivered or picked up, or a fee could becharged each time an unlock event occurs. Various other types of feesmay be charged as may be desired from this system 1.

FIG. 4 is an illustration that depicts an exemplary embodiment of a door4 that has an integrated package door 3 through which packages may bedelivered or picked up. In some embodiments, the door 4 may be aconventional door, such as a front door of a home or other building,retrofitted with a package door 3. Alternatively, the door 4 may beequipped with a package door 3 at the time of manufacture. The doorlocking mechanism 5, data input device 7, image capture device 9, anddoorbell system 11 are each coupled to a separate transceiver 13configured to communicate wirelessly with a gateway 15 (see FIG. 1). Thedata input device 7 depicted in FIG. 4 is a keypad, configured to allowthe entry of package tracking numbers, passwords, and other information.In other embodiments, other types of data input devices 7 may be used.In addition, the data input device 7 may have a display screen to permitmessages (e.g., prompts) to be displayed to a user. The image capturedevice 9 depicted in FIG. 4 is a tablet computer equipped with a camerathat can capture photographs and video. As described above, the imagecapture device 9 may be embedded in the door 4 such that its displayscreen (not shown in FIG. 4) is visible on the opposing face (see FIG.5) of the door 4. In other embodiments, one or more of the camera anddisplay screen of the image capture device 9 may be positioned onadjacent structures such as nearby walls. The image capture device 9 candisplay real-time video on the display screen such that it serves as adigital peephole.

As depicted in FIG. 4, the package door 3 is configured to swing open onhinges 57 when the door locking mechanism 5 is unlocked. The door 4 hasa secondary locking mechanism 55 such that, when the secondary lockingmechanism 55 is unlocked, the door 4 may swing open on hinges 59 toallow users to pass through its doorway or to allow for collection anddelivery of packages too large to pass through the doorway of thepackage door 3. In certain embodiments, the secondary locking mechanism55 is unlocked by the user of the remote access device 21 and/or thesystem logic 25 according to techniques similar to those described abovefor unlocking the locking mechanism 5. For example, if the user of theremote access device 21 observes photographs or real-time video showinga courier with a package too large to pass through the doorway of thepackage door 3, the user may use the remote access device 21 to signal,through the WAN 17, the system logic 25 to unlock secondary lockingmechanism 55.

In other embodiments, package size information is stored in theattribute data 27 such that the system logic 25 is configured to unlockthe secondary locking mechanism 55 automatically for particularpackages. For example, a user or courier may enter into the attributedata 27, in advance of the courier's arrival, package informationindicating that the package's size is too large to pass through thedoorway of the package door 3. Upon the courier's arrival, the couriermay enter the package tracking number into the data input device 7. Thesystem logic 25 is configured to then analyze the attribute data 27pertaining to such tracking number. If the tracking number entered usingthe data input device 7 matches the tracking number of a package storedin the attribute data 27, the computing device 19 based on the packagesize information included in the attribute data 27 may signal for thesecondary locking mechanism 55 to automatically unlock. The courier maythen enter through the doorway of the door 4 to collect or deliver thelarge package.

For any of the embodiments described herein, the computing device 19 maybe configured to capture certain information about a package delivery orpickup and store such information in the package data 23. As an example,the package data 23 may include the tracking number or other identifierof each package delivered or picked up through the doorway of thepackage door 3 or otherwise. The package data 23 may correlate eachtracking number with a timestamp indicating the approximate date andtime of delivery or pickup. In one exemplary embodiment, the trackingnumber is also correlated with sender or recipient information oridentifiers, e.g., a name and/or address of a sender or recipient. Notethat such information may be captured by the data input device 7. As anexample, the information, such as a recipient or sender identifier, maybe entered by the user delivering or picking up the package.Alternatively, such information may be scanned or wirelessly transmittedto the data input device 7 via the same techniques described above forcapturing the tracking number or other identifier of the package. In oneexemplary embodiment, the data input device 7 is used to capture thetracking number or other package identifier, and the tracking number orother package identifier is used to retrieve certain information, suchas sender or recipient information, from the server 30.

In this regard, as described above, the server 30 is configured to storecertain information about the packages being delivered by a specificcourier service, such as Fed Ex®. Such information may include, for eachpackage or delivery, the tracking number generated by the courier,tracking number generated by the system 1 (if not generated by thecourier), recipient identifier (e.g., name or address), senderidentifier (e.g., name or address), courier identifier, date and time ofdrop off to the courier service, and other information (e.g.,demographic, transactional, or other types of information). When thesystem logic 25 decides to permit access to the interior of the house,building or box (e.g., decides to unlock the door locking mechanism 5)or at some other time, the system logic 25 transmits information aboutthe package, such as its tracking number, to the server 30, and theserver 30 uses the tracking number to lookup attributes of theidentified package. As an example, the server 30 may look up andretrieve the recipient and/or sender information associated with thepackage and transmit such information to the computing device 19, whichthen stores the recipient and/or sender information in the package data23. Thus, the package data 23 defines not just a history of whenpackages are delivered or picked up, but also a history of packageattributes, such as names of the senders and/or recipients of thepackages that are delivered or picked up. Such information may be usefulto learn the habits or tendencies of the occupant of the house orbuilding.

As an example, the package data 23 may indicate when and how often theoccupant purchases product from a particular merchant or ships productto a particular customer. The occupant or other user may mine thepackage data 23 to discover information indicative of his shopping orbusiness activity, or the occupant or other user may sell such data to athird party, such as an advertising company or merchant who may mine thedata for the purpose of more effectively soliciting the occupant in thefuture or the government for census information. The package data 23 maybe analyzed or used for other purposes in other embodiments.

As an example, based on the name of the senders for a particularrecipient, information about the types of products purchased by therecipient can be gleaned or inferred. For example, the frequency ofdelivery from companies involved in a certain industry (e.g., beauty orhair care products) may be determined based on the product data 23. Inaddition, the system logic 25 may solicit certain demographicinformation from the user so that the product data 23 may be associatedwith such demographics. As an example, the system logic 25 may promptthe user to enter his or her race, age, sex, religious preference, orother types of demographics typically used for classifying consumers. Inaddition, the system logic 25 may determine the user's location, andthis information may be included in the demographics that are includedin the product data 23. Such location information may be input by theuser, automatically obtained by a location sensor (e.g., GPS (globalpositioning system) sensor) within the system 1 (e.g., within the datainput device 7, doorbell system 11, or image capture device 9) orderived from the sender or recipient information.

In one embodiment, the system logic 25 can obtain location information,e.g., GPS information, on the user from server 30. The system logic 25can also correlate the user to package attributes of one or morepackages being delivered by the user based on information from server30. The system logic 25 can then use the location information fromserver 30 to know the location of the user and the correspondingpackage(s) to be delivered by the user. Using the location informationon the user (and package(s)), the system logic 25 can determine when theposition of the user is within a predetermined proximity (e.g., 50 feet)of the package door 3 and can automatically take one or more actions inresponse to such a determination. For example, the system logic 25 canautomatically unlock package door 3 as the user approaches package door3. Alternatively, a message can be sent to the remote access device 21informing the system operator of the presence of the user and permittingthe system operator to take appropriate actions, e.g., unlock thepackage door 3. In another example, the system logic 25 can provide thetracking numbers of the package(s) to be delivered to the data inputdevice 7 and present a confirmation option to the user to confirm thatthe provided tracking numbers in the data input device 7 correspond tothe packages being delivered. If the user confirms the tracking numbers,the system logic 25 can proceed to open the package door 3.

In some embodiments, the system logic 25 is configured to comparelocation information to a map or other data indicating the likely wealthof the user based on his location. As an example, the user's locationmay be compared to a map of average home values to determine the averagehome value within the region in which the user is located. Suchinformation may be useful for classifying the user by his likely wealthlevel since more wealthy individuals tend to live in areas with higherproperty or home values.

Accordingly, in addition to indicating the history of packagedeliveries, the package data 23 may include certain demographics aboutthe user receiving shipments and transactional information about thefrequency and types of shipments made to the user. By assimilatingsimilar data from many users, trends in certain consumer behavior can beidentified making the package data 23 valuable to persons wishing tosell services or products.

In some embodiments, the system logic 25 is configured to categorizedeliveries based on product type and track the number of deliveries madewithin certain categories. As an example, one category may be beauty orhair-care products. The system logic 25 may be configured to search thename of the sender or other information about the sender for certainpredefined keywords, such as “beauty” or “hair,” that likely indicatethe delivery corresponds to the category. If a correspondence isdetermined, the system logic 25 may increment or otherwise update thecount for that category. In some embodiments, the sender may providedata indicative of the category corresponding to the product beingdelivered. Such information may appear on the package label, which canbe read by the data input device 7 or stored at the server 30 anddownloaded to the computing device 19. Further, the package data 23 maybe updated to indicate the number of deliveries corresponding to a givencategory over a given time period.

Note that it is unnecessary for the system logic 25 to retrieve thepackage attributes, such as sender and/or recipient information, fromthe server 30 at the time of delivery or pickup. As an example, asdescribed above, the system logic 23 may be configured to downloadcertain package information from time-to-time. As an example, each day,the system logic 23 may contact the server 30 and download packageinformation for each package to be delivered to the premises of thepackage door 3 that same day or over some other time period, such as thenext 2 to 3 days. As an example, the occupant of the house or otherbuilding in which the package door 3 is mounted may be associated withan identifier (e.g., customer number), referred to herein as “customeridentifier,” that is associated with each package to be delivered to orpicked up from the premises. The system logic 25 may be configured totransmit such customer identifier to the server 30, which uses thecustomer identifier as a key to look up various package information(e.g., tracking number, recipient or sender identifier, etc.) of eachpackage associated with the customer identifier. The packageinformation, such as tracking number and recipient or sender identifier,may be stored in the package data 23 before the package is delivered toor picked up from the premises by the courier service. Thus, once thepackage is actually delivered or picked up, it is unnecessary for thesystem logic 25 to contact the server 30 in order to account for thedelivery or pickup in the package history maintained by the system logic25.

In other embodiments, the system logic 25 may determine packageattributes without necessarily contacting the server 30. As an example,the system logic 25 may receive package attributes from the data inputdevice 7. In this regard, the same techniques used to determine apackage identifier may be used to determine other package attributes. Asan example, package attributes may be manually input to the data inputdevice 7. Alternatively, the data input device 7 may scan or otherwiseread a label of a package, such as a QR (quick response) code or a barcode, in order to determine package attributes. The data input device 7could also capture an image of the label or other portions of thepackage and use OCR or some other suitable techniques for determininginformation printed on the label or other portions of the package. Thepackage or a device carried by the person delivering the package mayalso be equipped with a wireless communication device, such as an RFIDor NFC device, that wirelessly communicate package attributes, such as apackage identifier, sender or recipient name, or other packageinformation, to the data input device 7. In other embodiments, yet othertechniques may be used to determine package attributes.

In addition, the system logic 25 of the computing device 19 may retrievefrom the server 30 various information indicative of the status of eachpending shipment that is associated with the customer identifier. Inthis regard, many courier services maintain package tracking informationthat indicates in real time the approximate location of the package asit is being delivered. The computing device 19 may contact the server 30in order to access such information. The system logic 25 may includesuch information in the package data 23, which may be displayed to auser as may be desired. For example, the user of the remote accessdevice 21 or the computing device 19 may view the package data 23 todetermine which packages have been delivered and which packages are inroute. In rendering the data 23, the system logic 25 may be configuredto display a geographic map and, for each package in route, indicate theapproximate location of the package on the map.

In some embodiments, a customer identifier is stored at the remotecomputing device 31 and is used to facilitate a purchase of a product tobe delivered to via the package door 3. For example, the remotecomputing device 31 may store a predefined shipment address for a user(such as the owner or occupant of the house or building in which thepackage door 3 is mounted) and associate such shipment address with theuser's customer identifier stored at the remote computing device 31. Theremote computing device 31 may also associate other information with thecustomer identifier, such as financial information (e.g., informationused to make a financial payment, such as credit card or debit cardinformation) for a financial account of the user.

When the user makes a purchase online, the user may be prompted for hiscustomer identifier by the merchant's server or other server (notshown), referred to herein as a “payment server,” that is used toinitiate a financial payment for the user or a shipment of a package tothe user. As an example, the payment server may ask the user if he orshe would like to utilize a service associated with the remote computingdevice 19, referred to hereafter as “identification service,” in orderto effectuate the purchase or shipment and, if so, to prompt the user toprovide his or her customer identifier. Upon receiving the customeridentifier from the user, the payment server may contact the remotecomputing device 31 via the WAN 17 or otherwise and submit the customeridentifier as part of a request to retrieve the user's financial orshipment information. In response, the remote computing device 31 mayreply with the shipment address and/or other information, such asfinancial information, associated with the customer identifier. Thepayment server may then use such information to automatically populatecertain fields on one or more web pages for effectuating the purchase.As an example, the shipment address fields may be automatically filledin using the user's shipment address received from the remote computingdevice 31. Financial account fields (e.g., credit card number or debitcard number, card expiration date, etc.) may be automatically filled inusing the financial account information received from the remotecomputing device 31. Thus, the user is not burdened with having tomanually complete such fields. In other words, the user or purchaser cancomplete a transaction with a single selection or “click” using theidentification service and then have the corresponding package deliveredinside the purchaser's home, via package door 3, without having toprovide payment and shipping information.

In some embodiments, the same customer identifier is used by multiplemerchants or other entities needing the user's contact and/or financialinformation to effectuate a financial payment, shipment, or other typeof transaction such that customer identifier is universally utilized bymultiple merchants or other types of third parties. For example, theuser may submit the customer identifier to multiple merchants for makingmultiple purchases. Each merchant may then use the customer identifierto retrieve from the remote computing device 31 shipping information(e.g., the address of the user) for shipping the purchased product orfinancial payment information (e.g., the address of the user, a creditcard or debit card number, etc.) for effectuating a financial payment.

In the example described above, the identification service is providedby the remote computing device 31. However, it is possible for theidentification service to be provided by other components of the system1, such as the computing device 19 or the server 30 of the courierservice responsible for delivering a package. When provided by theserver 30, it is unnecessary for a merchant shipping a product to theuser to acquire any shipping information pertaining to the user. In thisregard, rather than providing the address of the user, the merchant mayprovide the user's customer identifier, and courier service mayautomatically link the shipment with the user identified by the customeridentifier and, specifically with the shipment address that isassociated with such customer identifier.

The identification service has various benefits to merchants or otherentities that interact with the user. As an example, the identificationservice allows the merchants or other entities to efficiently obtaininformation about the user using the universal customer identifier thatis associated with the service. Further, the user is not burdened withhaving to manually enter shipping or financial payment information wheninteracting with the merchant or other entity, thereby making the user'sexperience with the merchant or other entity more pleasant to the user.Also, the identification service allows such benefits without requiringthe merchant or other entity to store the user's shipping or financialpayment information between transactions, thereby relieving the merchantor other entity from data security obligations associated with suchinformation.

The identification service provided by the remote computing device 31also provides a convenient way for a user to change the shipment addressthat is used to ship packages to him or her. As an example, the owner oroccupant of the house or building to which the package door 3 is mountedmay use the computing device 19, the remote access device 21, or othercomponent to communicate with the remote computing device 31 in order toupdate the shipment address that is associated with his or her customeridentifier. Thereafter, when the remote computing device 31 is contactedby a payment server or other device to retrieve the shipment address,the new shipment address will be provided.

In one embodiment, the remote computing device 31 stores a calendar anda user is permitted to update the shipment address by the date. As anexample, if the owner or occupant of the house or building in which thepackage door 3 is mounted plans to temporarily move or go to anotheraddress (e.g., go on vacation), then the user may change his or hershipment address only for the dates (referred to herein as “alternativedate range”) that he or she intends to be at the new address. Note thatthe request for the user's shipment address from the payment server orother device may include the expected arrival date of the shipment. Ifthe arrival date is within the alternative date range, the remotecomputing device 31 is configured to return the new shipment addresssuch that the package will be delivered to the new address by themerchant or other entity. Otherwise, the remote computing device 31 isconfigured to return the original shipment address (e.g., the address ofthe house or building in which the package door 3 is mounted). Thus, theshipment address provided by the identification service is based on theexpected date of arrival of the package. Similar techniques may also beused to update and/or control which financial account (e.g., credit cardnumber or debit card number) that is to be used to pay for atransaction. In another embodiment, the calendar functionality may beused to prevent the delivery of packages for a specified date ranges.

Note that the identification service described above may be performedindependent of the package delivery aspects of the system 1. As anexample, the identification service may be a stand-alone service that isoffered to merchants or other entities by a computing device 31, such asa server, without the computing device 31 performing any of the deliverymonitoring operations, including control of the door locking mechanism5, described herein.

In addition, note that it is also unnecessary for any of the packageinformation collected by the computing device 19 to be retrieved fromthe server 30. As an example, any information (e.g., sender identifier,recipient identifier, courier identifier, or other information describedherein) may be determined by the data input device 7. As an example, thedata input device 7 may prompt the user at the package door 3 for anysuch information. Such information may be scanned from a bar code orother optical code on the package or other source. An image of thepackage label may be captured and optical character recognition (OCR) orother techniques may be used to read information from the label. Yetother techniques for acquiring information collected and tracked by thesystem 1 are possible in other embodiments.

The computing device 19 is shown in FIG. 1 as communicating with thetransceivers 13 through a gateway 15. However, it should be emphasizedthat other configurations are possible. As an example, the computingdevice 19 may communicate with any of the data input device 7, the imagecapture device 9, the doorbell system 11, or the WAN 17 directly withoutcommunicating through the gateway 15. FIG. 6 shows an exemplaryembodiment of the computing device 19 that is adapted to plug into apower outlet, which may be mounted on a wall near the package door 3. Inthis regard, the computing device 19 of FIG. 6 has a housing 88 in whichelectronic components of the computing device 19 are situated. Extendingfrom a back of the housing 88 is a pair of male connectors 89 definingan electrical plug for plugging into the power outlet for receivingpower from the power outlet, and such power is used to operate theelectronic components of the computing device 19.

The computing device 19 may be positioned close to the transceivers 13so that short-range protocols, such as Bluetooth, can be used tocommunicate between the computing device 19 and the transceivers 13. Insuch embodiment, the computing device may define a Wi-Fi hotspot andcommunicate with the WAN directly 17 (e.g., using a cellular connection)or through the gateway 15. In other embodiments, other configurations ofthe computing device 19 are possible.

In various embodiments described above, access through the package door3 is based on a comparison of a package identifier to the attribute data27. However, it should be emphasized that other types of comparisons maybe performed in order to determine whether to unlock the door lockingmechanism 5. As an example, as described above, a password may be usedinstead of a package identifier. As used herein, an “authorization code”refers to any information, such as a package identifier or password,that is used to authenticate a user for the purpose of unlocking thedoor locking mechanism 5. In one embodiment, the authorization code maybe a temporary code that is valid for only a single use or for only alimited time, such as one day or one week. Such code may be provided tothe person needing access through the package door 3, and the code maybe received by the data input device 7 and used for comparison to theattribute data 27 in order to determine whether to unlock the doorlocking mechanism 5, as described above for the package identifier. Inanother embodiment, the authorization code may be provided to the systemoperator for approval. If the system operator approves the authorizationcode provided by the user, the system operator can select an option onthe remote access device 21 that sends a command to unlock the doorlocking mechanism 5.

FIGS. 7-10 show an alternate embodiment of the door locking mechanism 5used to close and lock the package door 3. The door locking mechanism 5has a strike plate assembly 110 mounted in the door 4 as shown in FIGS.7 and 8 and a latch assembly 120 mounted in the package door 3 as shownin FIGS. 9 and 10. The latch assembly 120 engages with the strike plateassembly 110 to close and/or lock the package door 3. While FIGS. 7-10show the strike plate assembly 110 and the latch assembly 120 used forclosing and locking the package door 3 when the package door 3 is thedoor 4, the use of the strike plate assembly 110 and the latch assembly120 can be used to close and lock the package door 3 in other locationswhere the package door 3 may be mounted, e.g., a box, a bench or a wall.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the strike plate assembly 110 can use anelectric strike to control the locking and unlocking of the package door3. The strike plate assembly 110 has a faceplate 111 fixedly attached tothe door 4 and a movable latchbar 112. The pivoting movement of thelatchbar 112 is controlled by the controller 113. The controller 113 canreceive power from an external power source, e.g., batteries or a walloutlet, and can provide the current needed to pivot the latchbar 112 toan unlocked position (from a normally locked position) to permit a latchof the package door 3 to pass by the latchbar 112 and the package door 3to be opened. The controller can be electrically connected to thelatchbar 112 by wires (not shown) located in passageway 117 in door 4.In another embodiment, the controller 113 can provide the current neededto move and hold the latchbar 112 in a locked position (from a normallyunlocked position) to prevent the package door 3 from being opened.

The controller 113 can receive door position signals from a proximitysensor to determine whether the package door 3 is in an open position ora closed position. When the package door 3 is in the closed position, afirst part 115 of the proximity sensor mounted in door 4 can be alignedwith a second part 125 (see FIG. 10) of the proximity sensor mounted inpackage door 3. In one embodiment, the first part 115 of the proximitysensor can be a reed switch and the second part 125 of the proximitysensor can be a magnet used to open or close the reed switch when thesecond part 125 of the proximity sensor is aligned (or near) the firstpart 115. In another embodiment, the first part 115 of the proximitysensor can be incorporated within the strike plate assembly 110.

The first part 115 of the proximity sensor can send a signal to thecontroller 113 indicating that the package door 3 is in a closedposition in response to the first part 115 of the proximity sensor beingsubstantially aligned (or near) the second part 125 of the proximitysensor. Upon receiving the signal indicating the package door 3 is inthe closed position, the controller 113 can remove any current beingprovided to the latchbar 112 to permit the latchbar 112 to return to thelocked position to lock the package door 3 in the closed position. Asthe second part 125 of the proximity sensor moves away from the firstpart 115 of the proximity sensor (e.g., after the latchbar 112 has beenmoved to an unlocked position), the first part 115 can send thecontroller 113 a signal indicating that the package door 3 is in an openposition, i.e., the package door 3 is not closed. In one embodiment, thesignal indicating the package door 3 is in an open position can be theabsence of the “closed position” signal from the first part 115. If thecontroller 113 receives an open position signal, the controller 113 cancontinue to provide current to the latchbar 112 to prevent the packagedoor 3 from being unable to reach the closed position as a result of thelatchbar 112 being in the locked position before the package door 3 isin the closed position.

The controller 113 can include a transceiver to enable wirelesscommunication with the computing device 19, the remote access device 21or a user interface 130 (see FIG. 11). For example, the controller 113can wirelessly receive a command from the computing device 19, theremote access device 21 or user interface 130 to unlock the package door3 as described above with respect to the door locking mechanism 5. Inaddition, the controller 113 can wirelessly provide the computing device19, the remote access device 21 or user interface 130 with informationon the position of the package door 3, i.e., opened or closed, inresponse to an inquiry by a system operator on a remote access device21. In another embodiment, the controller 113 and the computing device19 or user interface 130 may by connected by a wired connection. In oneembodiment, the controller 113 can be connected to a light pipe throughthe door 4 with an opening in the exterior surface of the door 4. Thecontroller 113 can include an optical sensor connected to the light pipeto determine if something, e.g., a person, animal or object, is near thepackage door 3. The controller 113 can use the information provided bythe optical sensor in determining when to lock and unlock the packagedoor 3.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the latch assembly 120 can be mounted in thepackage door 3. The latch assembly 120 can include a latch 122 thatextends from the side of the package door 3 and is the part that engageswith the strike plate assembly 110 to close the package door 3. Thelatch 122 can be held in the strike plate assembly 110 by the latchbar112 when the latchbar 112 is in the locked position. When the latchbar112 is in the unlocked position, the latch 122 can move past thelatchbar 112 to permit the package door 3 to open.

In another embodiment, the strike plate assembly 110 and the latchassembly 120 can be incorporated into door 4 or any other hingedstructure that opens and closes similar to door 4. The strike plateassembly 110 and the latch assembly 120 can operate as described aboveto control the opening and closing of door 4 instead of package door 3.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of a user interface 130 that can bepositioned on or near the package door 3. The user interface 130 cancombine the data input device 7, the image capture device 9 and/or thedoorbell system 11 into a single shared interface. In one embodiment,the user interface 130 can be a tablet computer, but can include anytype touchscreen interface or other type of display and interfacecoupled to a processing element in other embodiments. In anotherembodiment, the user interface 130 can also incorporate the computingdevice 19 in addition to the data input device 7, the image capturedevice 9 and/or the doorbell system 11. The user interface 130 canprovide a user approaching the user interface 130 with several differentoptions from which to select.

In one embodiment, the user interface 130 can be positioned at alocation near the location of the doorbell interface 12 (e.g., aconventional doorbell mechanism). The user interface 130 can be coupledto the wiring and/or equipment used to provide power to the doorbellinterface 12 such that the user interface 130 can be supplied with powerfrom an external power source. FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a powersystem for the user interface 130. In FIG. 17, the power system 200 canuse a power supply 202 to provide electrical power to a power converter204 via wires 203 (e.g., the wires used to provide power to the doorbellinterface 12). In one embodiment, the power supply 202 can be a doorbelltransformer that receives mains electricity or line voltage (e.g., 120 V(volt) AC (alternating current)) and can provide an output voltage ofbetween 8-24 V AC to the doorbell interface 12. However, in otherembodiments other power supplies can be used (e.g., an 120 V AC powersource). The power converter 204 can convert the electrical power fromthe power supply 202 to a suitable type of power (e.g., DC (directcurrent) power) having a suitable power level (e.g., about 5 V) for theuser interface 130. The power converter 204 can then be coupled to theuser interface 130 to provide the converted power to the user interface130. In an embodiment, the power converter 204 can be located internalto the user interface 130 and be internally wired to the powercomponents of the user interface 130. However, in other embodiments, thepower converter 204 can be located external to the user interface 130and coupled to the user interface with a suitable power cable havingsuitable connectors. If the user interface 130 is used to replace thedoorbell interface 12, the doorbell wires 203 can be coupled directly tothe power converter 204. However, if the user interface 130 is used inconjunction with the doorbell interface 12 (i.e., the conventionaldoorbell mechanism remains in place), the power converter 204 can beconnected to the doorbell wires via jumpers, splices or other similartype of connections.

The user can select the doorbell interface 12 of the doorbell system 11to ring a doorbell at the building or residence associated with thepackage door 3. The doorbell system 11 can operate as described aboveand can provide a system operator with an electronic peephole via remoteaccess device 21 to view the person at the user interface 130. Theelectronic peephole provided by the doorbell system 11 can use a camera135 of the image capture device 9 incorporated into the user interface130 to capture an image of the user.

A deliver package option 132 can be used by delivery persons attemptingto deliver a package or other deliverable to the building or residence.Once the user selects the deliver package option 132, the user interface130 can guide the user through a series of steps to complete thedelivery of the package. In one embodiment, after the user selects thedeliver package option 132, the user can be prompted to enter thetracking code for the delivery into the user interface 130 similar tothe entry of the code into the data input device 7. A picture of theuser can then be taken using the camera 135 of the image capture device9. The package door 3 can then be opened, as described above, eitherautomatically based on the entry of the tracking code or based on aninput from the system operator and the user can place the package insidethe package door 3 in the corresponding storage area associated with thepackage door 3, e.g., within the building or residence or within astorage box located at the building or residence. Once the package isplaced within the storage area and the package door 3 is closed, asecond picture of the user can be taken with the camera 135 to confirmdelivery. The information and pictures captured by the user interface130 can be sent to the system operator on the remote access device 21 inan email or other type of message.

The audio/video option 134 can be used to access audio and/or videomessages that are provided for the user. The system operator can send(using remote access device 21) or leave (at the user interface 130) anaudio, video or text message for the user delivering a package thatincludes additional instructions, additional information, specialrequests and/or an image of the system operator's signature. The usercan be notified that there is a message for the user when accessing thedeliver package option 132. To access the message using the audio/videooption 134, the user may have to enter a password or provide some otherform of identification (e.g., show an identification badge) to preventunauthorized viewing of messages. In another embodiment, the message mayautomatically become accessible and/or displayed upon the entry of thetracking code during the deliver package option 132. For example, theuser interface 130 can incorporate a multimedia software platform, e.g.,Adobe® Flash®, that permits the system operator to send a message to theuser interface 130 that is displayed for the user on a portion of thedisplay of the user interface 130. The message can be displayed on thetop, bottom, left, right, or center of the display. In addition, themultimedia software platform can provide the user with several optionswhen displaying the message for the user. The user may be able tofast-forward, rewind, pause, stop and replay the message. In oneembodiment, the message can be displayed for a predetermined timeperiod, e.g., 5 minutes, and then removed from the display or themessage can be removed from the display after a predetermined number ofviewings, e.g., 5 times.

In still another embodiment, the audio/video option 134 may be used toprovide messages to other users beside package delivery personnel. Forexample, a system operator may leave a message for an expected guestthat the system operator knows will be arriving to the building orresidence in a few minutes. An indicator on the user interface 130 canbe used to notify the guest that there is a message waiting for theguest and provide instructions on how to access the message. In oneembodiment, the selection of the audio/video option 134 can open a2-way, real-time, communication channel between the user at userinterface 130 and the system operator at the remote access device 21.For example, the user may open a 2-way communication channel with thesystem operator to obtain a visual verification that the personreceiving the package is over a predetermined age, such as 18 years ofage or 21 years of age, or, in other words, an “adult.” The user canobtain the visual verification by seeing a real-time image (or video) ofeither the system operator or an identification card (or other form ofidentification) of the system operator on the display of the userinterface 130. To provide the visual verification information, thesystem operator can use an image capture device, e.g., a camera, in theremote access device 21 to capture the appropriate visual verificationinformation and then send the information to the user interface 130 tobe displayed on the display.

In other embodiments, the audio/video option 134 can be used to providethe user (either automatically based on the attribute data 27 for thepackage or in response to a request by the user) with stored informationregarding the age or identity of the system operator or other personidentified to receive packages. The audio/video option 134 can displayor otherwise output data that indicates the age or identity of thesystem operator and other persons who may receive packages. For example,a stored image of an identification card (or other form ofidentification) of the system operator or other person can be providedto the user when the age or identity of the recipient of the package hasto be confirmed before a package can be delivered. In another example,the audio/video option 134 can display the names and ages or age ranges(e.g., over 21 years of age or less than 18 years of age) of the peoplewho may receive packages via the package door. The user can review theprovided information (i.e., an image of an identification card or otherdata) from the audio/video option 134 and may refuse to deliver apackage if the user is not able to verify the age or identity of theperson receiving the package or if the age of the person receiving thepackage does not satisfy an age requirement associated with the package.For example, the user may not deliver a package containing alcoholicbeverages if the recipient of the package has an age designation that isunder the corresponding legal limit for that area.

The leave message option 136 can be used by the user to leave an audio,video or text message for the system operator regarding the delivery ofthe package. For example, the user may leave a video message usingcamera 135 that the package could not be delivered because a signatureis required and could inform the system operator when a redelivery mayoccur. In another embodiment, the leave message option 136 can be usedby the user to enter, via a corresponding interface, an email addresswhere the system operator can provide the user with an image of his/hersignature or an electronic signature in order to receive the package tobe delivered. In another embodiment, other users besides packagedelivery personnel, e.g., guests, can use the leave message option 136to leave audio, video or text messages for the system operator. Forexample, a friend may leave a message for the system operator indicatingthat the friend had stopped for a visit, but that the system operatorwas not available.

The emergency option 138 can be used to activate a siren or other deviceto alert nearby people that the user at the user interface 130 may needassistance. In one embodiment, the selection of the emergency option 138can send a message to the remote access device 21 of the system operatorand/or contact emergency service personnel, e.g., police, fire orambulance personnel, informing the system operator and/or the emergencyservice personnel of a possible situation at the user interface 130. Inanother embodiment, the selection of the emergency option 138 may engagea 2-way communication link (using audio and/or video capabilitiesprovided by camera 135) between the user and the system operator and/oremergency service personnel. In still another embodiment, the selectionof the emergency option 138 may automatically trigger the operation ofthe camera 135 of the image capture device 9 to record any events thatmay occur at the user interface 130.

In another embodiment, the user interface 130 can be used to collectbiometric information, e.g., a thumbprint, fingerprint, retina scanand/or face scan, or signature information (e.g., a signature enteredinto the user interface by a person with a stylus or the person'sfinger) from a user or a guest and then use the biometric or signatureinformation to control the unlocking of door 4 or package door 3. Theuser interface 130 can incorporate a fingerprint reader to readthumbprints or fingerprints of a user or guest and/or a touchscreeninterface for a person to provide a signature. The camera 135 of theuser interface 130 can be used to capture an image of the face and/orretina of the user or guest. The user interface 130 can then process thecollected information to determine if the user or guest is an authorizedperson. If the user or guest is authorized, the user interface 130and/or system logic 25 can then send a command to unlock either door 4or package door 3 depending on the person and the level ofauthorization. In another embodiment, the user interface 130 can sendthe collected biometric or signature information and authorizationdetermination about the user or guest to the remote access device 21 andthe system operator can determine whether to send a command to unlockdoor 3 or package door 4. Based on the reply by the system operator,e.g., unlock or keep locked, the user interface 130 or system logic 25can store the information and use that stored information in makingsubsequent authorization determinations.

In still another embodiment, the user interface 130 or the remote accessdevice 21 can be used to provide information to a hand-held device ofthe user. The hand-held device of the user can be a personal digitalassistant (PDA), cellular telephone, smartphone, tablet computer oremployer provided computing device. The information provided to thehand-held device of the user can be an image of a signature from thesystem operator (or other person), an image of an identification cardfrom the system operator (or other person), biometric information fromthe system operator (or other person), acknowledgement information,payment information or an audio, video or text message from the systemoperator (or other person). The information can be communicatedwirelessly between the hand-held device of the user and the userinterface 130 or the remote access device. For example, the hand-helddevice of the user and the user interface 130 or remote access device 21can communicate using Bluetooth, Near-Field Communication (NFC) or awireless network (Wi-Fi). In addition, the user interface 130 maydisplay or otherwise provide the information for detection by thehand-held device of the user. For example, the user interface 130, maydisplay an image of a signature or identification card from the systemoperator that can be captured by a camera on the hand-held device of theuser. In another example, the user interface 130 can display a bar code,QR code (or other type of code) that may be scanned by the hand-helddevice of the user to obtain the information. However, other forms ofcommunication (e.g., a wired connection) between the hand-held device ofthe user and the user interface 130 can be used in other embodiments.The providing of information directly to the hand-held device of theuser can enable the user to have a record of any information that may berequired for the pick-up or delivery of a package.

In a further embodiment, the user interface 130 can be used to provide adoorbell interface 12 and permit communications between the systemoperator and a user or guest as described above without makingdeterminations as to whether the door 3 or package door 4 should beunlocked. In other words, the locking/unlocking functionality of thesystem 1 pertaining to door 3 or package door 4 can be excluded from theuser interface 130 such that the locking/unlocking of door 3 or packagedoor 4 (if present) does not occur from the user interface 130.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the package door 3 as part of a bench142. The package door 3 can be incorporated into the seat or a portionof the seat of the bench 142. In addition, the bench 142 can include anenclosed storage area (not shown) accessible via the package door 3.When the package door 3 is unlocked, the user can raise the package door3 (seat of the bench 142) to place the package in the enclosed storagearea. The user can then lower the package door 3 (seat of the bench 142)to complete the delivery of the package. In one embodiment of the bench142, the package door 3 can be closed and locked using the strike plateassembly 110 and the latch assembly 120. However, other lockingmechanisms can be used in other embodiments.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show an embodiment of the package door 3 incorporated ina storage container or box 144. The package door 3 can operate as thelid or top of the storage box 144 or can be incorporated into the lid ortop of the storage box 144. However, in other embodiments, the packagedoor 3 can be incorporated into other parts of the storage box 144. Thepackage door 3 of the box 144 can be held in the closed position by thelatch assembly 120 engaging with the strike plate assembly 110 asdescribed above. However, in other embodiments, different closing andlocking mechanisms may be used.

In one embodiment, the strike plate assembly 110 can be mounted to aninterior wall of the storage box 144 and the latch assembly 120 can bemounted to the interior surface of the package door 3 (operating as thelid or top of the storage box 144). When the controller 113 as shown inthe rear view of the strike plate assembly 110 of FIG. 16 receives asignal indicating that the package door 3 should be opened, thecontroller 113 can provide current to move the latch bar 112 as shown inthe front view of the strike plate assembly 110 of FIG. 15 to theunlocked position and permit the package door 3 to be opened. When thepackage door 3 is opened, the user can place the package in enclosedstorage space 146 to store the delivered package until the systemoperator retrieves the delivered package from the enclosed storage space146. Once the package door 3 is returned to the closed position, thelatchbar 112 can be returned to the locked position to lock the packagedoor 3.

Various examples are provided herein in an effort to convey a clearunderstanding of the subject matter described in this application.Various changes or modifications to the described examples would beapparent to a person of ordinary skill upon reading this disclosure.Also, several embodiments are described above in the context of enablingthe collection and delivery of packages. It should be emphasized thatthe package door systems and techniques described herein may be used forother purposes in other contexts. For example, the system 1 may be usedby a landlord to allow entry of a lessor into a vacation rental.

Now, therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A package door systemcomprising: a door; a door locking mechanism coupled to the door; a userinterface positioned near the door and comprising a data input device,the data input device configured to receive an input provided by a user;and at least one computing device configured to receive the user inputfrom the data input device and to perform a comparison between the userinput and stored data associated with at least one package to bedelivered or picked up by a courier service, the at least one computingdevice further configured to control the door locking mechanism based onthe comparison.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the user inputcomprises biometric information from the user.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein the biometric information comprises at least one of a thumbprintof the user, a fingerprint of the user, a retina scan of the user or aface scan of the user.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising: aserver configured to obtain location information on the user and tocommunicate the location information to the at least one computingdevice; and the at least one computing device configured to determine aposition of the user relative to the door using the location informationfrom the server.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least onecomputing device is configured to transmit a first message through anetwork to a remote access device in response to the position of theuser being within a predetermined proximity of the door and to receive,from the remote access device, a second message indicating whether theat least one computing device is authorized to unlock the door lockingmechanism, and wherein the at least one computing device is configuredto control the door locking mechanism based on the second message. 6.The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one computing device isconfigured to automatically unlock the door locking mechanism for thedoor in response to the position of the user being within apredetermined proximity of the door.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe user interface comprises an image capture device configured tocapture at least one image of the user in response to a detection of auser at the door.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the user interfacecomprises a doorbell interface, wherein the detection of the user isbased on an interaction of the user with the doorbell interface.
 9. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the at least one computing device isconfigured to transmit the captured image through a network to a remoteaccess device and to receive, from the remote access device, a messageindicating whether the at least one computing device is authorized tounlock the door locking mechanism, and wherein the at least onecomputing device is configured to control the door locking mechanismbased on the message.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the door isconfigured to permit access to an interior portion of a building, andthe system further comprises a display screen located in the interiorportion of the building, the display screen configured to display the atleast one image from the image capture device.
 11. The system of claim1, wherein the user interface comprises a power converter to providepower to one or more components of the user interface, the powerconverter is coupled to a power supply configured to provide power to adoorbell interface.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the userinterface comprises a display screen and a camera, the user interfaceconfigured to provide a two-way communication channel between the userand a system operator at a remote access device using the display screenand the camera.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interfacecomprises a display screen, the display screen is configured to provideat least one of age information or identity information to the userabout a recipient of the at least one package.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein the at least one of age information or identity informationincludes an image of an identification card of the recipient of the atleast one package.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interfaceis configured to provide the user with a message having additionalinformation or additional instructions for the user, the messageincludes at least one of an audio message, a video message or a textmessage.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the user interfacecomprises a display screen, the message is a video message displayed onat least a portion of the display screen and the user interface includesat least one option for the user to control display of the video messageon the display screen.
 17. A method for facilitating deliveries,comprising: receiving a user-provided input at a user interface, theuser interface positioned near a door; comparing, by at least onecomputing device, the user-provided input to stored data associated withat least one package to be delivered or picked up by a courier service;automatically controlling a door locking mechanism for the door based onthe comparing, the door locking mechanism having a locked position andan unlocked position; and moving, by the user, the door from a closedposition to an open position after the door locking mechanismtransitions to an unlocked position, the user delivering or picking upthe at least one package when the door is in the open position.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the receiving the user-provided inputincludes receiving biometric information from the user, the biometricinformation including at least one of a thumbprint of the user, afingerprint of the user, a retina scan of the user or a face scan of theuser.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: obtaining, by aserver, location information on the user; communicating, by the server,the location information on the user to the at least one computingdevice; and determining, by the at least one computing device, aposition of the user relative to the door based on the locationinformation from the server.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising: transmitting, by the at least one computing device, a firstmessage through a network to a remote access device in response to theposition of the user being within a predetermined proximity of the door;receiving, by the at least one computing device, a second message fromthe remote access device indicating whether the at least one computingdevice is authorized to unlock the door locking mechanism; andcontrolling, by the at least one computing device, the door lockingmechanism based on the second message.
 21. The method of claim 19,further comprising moving, by the at least one computing device, thedoor locking mechanism to the unlocked position in response to theposition of the user being within a predetermined proximity of the door.22. The method of claim 17, further comprising: detecting a presence ofa user at the door; and capturing an image of the user in response tothe detecting.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the detecting isbased on the user interaction with a doorbell interface.
 24. The methodof claim 22, further comprising: transmitting the captured image througha network to a remote access device; receiving, by the at least onecomputing device, a message from the remote access device indicatingwhether the at least one computing device is authorized to move the doorlocking mechanism to the unlocked position; and controlling, by the atleast one computing device, the door locking mechanism based on themessage.
 25. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing to theuser at least one of age information or identity information about arecipient of the at least one package via a display screen of the userinterface.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one of ageinformation or identity information includes an image of anidentification card of the recipient of the at least one package. 27.The method of claim 17, further comprising providing the user with amessage having additional information or additional instructions for theuser via the user interface, the message includes at least one of anaudio message, a video message or a text message.
 28. The method ofclaim 27, wherein the user interface comprises a display screen, themessage is a video message displayed on at least a portion of thedisplay screen and the user interface includes at least one option forthe user to control display of the video message on the display screen.29. The method of claim 17, further comprising leaving, by the user, amessage regarding the at least one package with the user interface, themessage includes at least one of an audio message, a video message or atext message.
 30. The method of claim 17, further comprising opening atwo-way communication channel between the user at the user interface anda system operator at a remote access device, wherein the two-waycommunication channel permits the system operator to provide informationto the user.